Wisconsin's best soccer player: Jay DeMerit

In the U.S., professional soccer players fall somewhere between obscurity and anonymity when it comes to name recognition. Ask a fan to list American players, and you'll likely hear Landon Donovan, maybe Tim Howard or Jozy Altidore, possibly Freddy Adu. Only the diehards will mention Jay DeMerit.

A 31-year-old Green Bay native, DeMerit is in his first year playing defense for the Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS after putting together a solid six-year career for English club Watford and playing in 23 matches for the U.S. Men's National Team. Nate Leaf, managing editor of